By NICOLE VALICEK
PAUL White is ranked number one in the country for his age in the ten-pin bowling circuit and he has made it by striking one pin at a time.
The 20-year old Seabrook resident threw his first ball at the age of 11 with his dad, and it wasn’t long before he discovered a natural knack for the sport.
Paul is currently ranked number one in the Australian under 21s.
“People bowling at the centre saw my natural ability… they asked me to come along and try out for the junior league,” he said.
“I fell in love with it from there.”
Paul started bowling competitively at 14, but had never won a competition at state level.
That all changed this year when Paul took out the 2013 National Youth Cup held in Perth in January.
Paul bowled against 14 other competitors in the finals and beat 52 people to get there in the qualifying round.
Since then he has backed it up with two more national wins; the first at the Werribee Youth Cup and most recently at the Youth Cup in Sydney.
Paul, who trains four times a week at Wyncity Bowls, said he enjoys the challenge of ten-pin bowling and hopes to continue his winning streak.
“I just like how it’s not just a physical game, the majority of it is a mental sport, and being able to execute shots under extreme pressure, that really competitive side of it… It can be one pin between a win and a loss.”
Paul plans to continue the sport and has been selected to try out for the Australian team that will compete at the Asian Youth Championship in Hong Kong September.
